A household is said to be in fuel poverty when they cannot afford to keep adequately warm at reasonable cost. In the UK, fuel poverty is said to occur when in order to heat its home to an adequate standard of warmth a household needs to spend more than 10% of its income to maintain an adequate heating regime.

Fuel Poverty is caused by a convergence of four factors:

Low income, which is often linked to absolute poverty.

High fuel prices, including the use of relatively expensive fuel sources (such as electricity in the UK, aggravated by higher tariffs for low-volume energy users)
Poor energy efficiency of a home, e.g. through low levels of insulation and old or inefficient heating systems.
Under-occupancy: according to UK government statistics, on average those in the most extreme fuel poverty live in larger than average homes

It is a fact that fuel poverty causes more deaths in this country than road traffic accidents.

The most effective way of combating fuel poverty, if one excludes forcible re-housing, is to target energy
efficiency measures on homes typically occupied by those on low incomes. Unfortunately the private rented
sector forms a considerable part of this category.

The National Private Tenants Organisation will campaign against fuel poverty wherever and whenever it can.

On 14 March 2011 the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP, announced that Professor John Hills had been requested to undertake a review to take a fresh look at the fuel poverty target and definition.

Three and a half million families are renting privately, including a million families with children and the numbers are rising at a rate of 10% every three months. All are paying increasingly unaffordable rents for shorthold tenancies offering no long-term security.

Typical rents for a two bedroom home are costing a third of average take-home pay with average rents in 22 London boroughs costing more than 50% of take home payMillions are putting up with poor conditions rather than complaining because without security of tenure they fear being evicted.The prospect of finding an affordable home are next to nil as the Government slashed 60% from its affordable housing budget last year, driving new affordable home building down by 97%. More than one in three private tenants is struggling to pay their rent.

Private tenants are four times more likely than other occupiers to be living in a home they can’t afford to heat adequately in Winter.

Private tenants are being exposed to serious electrical dangers. The Electrical Safety Council reports that electrical faults kill one person every week and nearly a thousand are seriously injured every day. A much higher percentage of private tenants are affected than in any other housing.

The NPTO is fighting for proper regulation of private tenants’ homes, control over spiralling rents and increased security of tenure.